The HBS Symposium Pond Life: Crosscurrents over the Atlantic was held online May 24-26, 2021, with over 210 participants representing every continent. The symposium focused on the exchange and cross-pollination of ideas between Britain, Europe and the Americas, with 18 presentations on topics including instruments, trade and manufacturing; repertoire, composers, performers; and performance practices. It kicked off on Monday with the Keynote Address by Clifford Bevan, followed by a day filled with outstanding presentations. Tuesday featured memorial tributes, presentations, including John Webb and His Collection of Brass Instruments with Arnold Myers, and John Wallace chairing a session on British and American Dance Bands that included a play-along session led by Richard Michael (jazz educator) for both HBS members and students from New York public schools followed by a roundtable discussion with Cliff Bevan, Dan Block, Hilary Michael, and Richard Michael. Wednesday began with the final four presentations and the virtual presentation of the Monk Awards to Peter Holmes (2020) and Friedemann Immer (2021). John Miller led a Roundtable discussion on the Development of the Brass Quintet with Allan Dean, Tony George, Simon Hogg, Ray Mase, John Rojak and John Wallace, and the Symposium ended with a livestream concert from St Cecilia's in Edinburgh with The Wallace Collection performing 19th-century small ensemble music using period instruments from the Webb Collection and other private collections.
The full Symposium Program, with the schedule, abstracts and biographies is available here.
The presentations, roundtables, award ceremonies, memorials, and other documentation will be uploaded to playlists as part of the HBS YouTube Channel very soon, watch this space for more details!
POND LIFE: Crosscurrents over the Atlantic was made possible with support from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and with additional support from The University of Edinburgh, St Cecilia's Hall, Edinburgh UK.
